Increasing the commitment of students toward corporate social responsibility through higher education instruction

The corporate social responsibility strategies that companies will incorporate depend on the commitments and decisions that future generations will make. Under the Principles for Responsible Management Education framework, universities must foster skills that will influence the ethical behaviours and decisions of their students so that they can respond to the new needs of business. In the business world, ethical commitment is articulated through corporate social responsibility (CSR); therefore, it is of interest to know the extent to which a university's ethical instruction is received by students and the factors that influence it, as well as the extent to which they are associated with their orientation toward CSR. This study analyses the impact of university instruction in business ethics on students' economic and social visions and the effect they have on their orientation toward CSR. Based on the answers to a questionnaire from a sample of 151 students, the relationship between ethical instruction and CSR orientation and the factors that reinforce this relationship are analysed using structural equations. The results show that the instruction given, family education (values) and social vision are positively associated with the students’ orientation toward CSR, while economic vision, which is traditionally transmitted through the subjects of the degree, is negatively associated. •The research applies the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) in the instruction of CSR and ethics.•A positive approach for the development of the RME provides the skills for students to develop a project that shows responsible leadership.•Instruction impacts the CSR orientation and the social vision of students.•The mediating factor of family education explains a students' CSR orientation and help achieve the objetive of responsible leadership.•More emphasis on ethical and CSR aspects is needed in order to achieve a change in the orientation towards sustainability and ethics of students that companies are demanding.